Printography Review & Giveaway
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Printography Review & Giveaway

ByRebecca

There is just something special about decorating your home with photos taken by you or a loved one. I grew up with a photographer dad who painstakingly created beautiful photo collages that hung throughout our home. Fortunately, I’m parenting in the age of technology, and I don’t have to cut and paste my photos to display them. All I have to do is find a good photo print company online and let them do all the work.

Read my Printography review, get the reader discount, and enter to win a bamboo mount of your own!

peanut butter chocolate banana chip granola
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Chip Granola (she: Zainab)

ByZainab

Hi everyone, I’m Zainab the baker behind Blahnik Baker. I’m so excited to be sharing with you this peanut butter chocolate banana chip granola recipe as a new contributor here on OSSS! But before we talk about food, I should probably tell you a little bit about myself.
I’m a newly wed graduate student who is teaching herself her way around making delicious desserts and treats! I didn’t grow up baking like most people and had never baked before attempting to make a V-day cake for my then-fiance a few years ago. It was not the prettiest but he loved it 🙂 Since that disastrous first cake making experience, I’ve been on a mission to teach myself the basics of baking and decorating. That’s how I fell in love with baking and making special treats for my friends and family.

During the day, I work on my PhD in Neuroscience and in my spare time/weekends, I’m a bake-a-holic and shoe-a-holic! I love making easy, simple to assemble yet beautiful everyday desserts. But why am I telling you about all the desserts I make and here sharing a healthy granola? Well, while I would love to be eating cupcakes and cakes for every meal, I don’t. I try to balance my diet with healthier recipes, like this peanut butter granola, for most meals so I can indulge later.

What Is Love? Inspirational Series www.orsoshesays.com
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What Is Love? ~ An Inspirational Series on Love, Part 4

ByMariel

My heart is FULL. It is such a blessing to be able to share these stories with so many. I am so thankful.

I must say, I’m a little sad about this being the last week of the ‘What is Love?’ series. Sad, sad, sad. I get anxiety all week long, wondering if I’ll be able to find the perfect love stories that I want to share with you. It can’t be just any story about love. It has to inspire me.

Homemade Cocktail Sauce by www.whatscookingwithruthie.com
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Homemade Cocktail Sauce (she: Ruthie)

Byruthie

Hi everyone! It’s Ruthie from Whats Cooking with Ruthie and I’m excited to be here with y’all again this month! I was trying to decide what delicious recipe to share today and I figured if you are anything like me a last minute simple but elegant recipe would be awesome. I love to cook and bake AND I love to share it with my family and friends… sharing the love from my kitchen is my favorite way to tell them how important they are to me 🙂 This recipe is quick and easy and will go so well with your favorite seafoods like shrimp, crab, or lobster.

family reunion planning
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Jump Start Your Family Reunion Planning (she: Allison)

Byallison l.

Hello! It’s Allison from Tips for Family Trips. I believe that travel makes families stronger, smarter and happier, and there is no better way to strengthen families than through family reunions. If it has been a few years since your family has come together, this can be the year to make it happen!

A family reunion can be as simple as a picnic in the park with your parents, siblings and their children (heaven knows that just getting that group together can be hard enough), or a multi-day vacation that includes second and third cousins. Whatever works for your family is the right way.

If you want to plan a reunion for this summer, now is the time to start. Here are five steps to follow to help you with your family reunion planning:

Set up an invitation to play using pasta an beads on sticks.
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Simple Invitation To Play (she: Amy)

ByAmy Lee

As much as I love hanging out with Elle the 3 footer, sometimes I need a few quiet moments to myself. Whether it’s to make dinner, do laundry, go to the bathroom by myself, upload a picture to Instagram…all these little alone moments keeps me sane.

To get these snippets of alone time, one of the best ways I’ve found is to occupy the kids with something fun.

An invitation to play is simply setting up something really simple for your children to engage with and create something with no boundaries. They are free to do as they wish with the materials given.

In this simple invitation to play, I set out a tray of ‘stuff’ for Elle to put on a stick.

I went through our craft cabinet and pulled out anything I can find with holes in it. I gathered 2 bowls of pastas in different shapes that we dyed recently, some wooden beads, some small plastic beads and some caps from those squeezable baby/kid puree in a bag (is there an actual name for these?).

Orange Pound Cake Mini Loaves ~ this moist pound cake tastes like a burst of sunshine! | orsoshesays.com #orangepoundcake #poundcake #dessert #recipe
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Orange Pound Cake Mini Loaves (she: Samantha)

BySamantha

Hi, everyone! It’s Samantha from Five Heart Home, and I’m excited to be back today with a recipe that just might help you battle those wintertime blues! In Texas, we haven’t had to endure near the degree of winter weather that other parts of the country have been battling, but it’s still been colder than usual around here, with multiple days of school delayed or cancelled because of ice. The great thing about oranges is that, even though they’re in season during the winter, their fresh taste and dazzling color color scream summer! Regardless of the month of the year, I think you will love these little loaves. A thick slab of this pound cake makes a delightful snack or dessert…and it’s not too shabby with a cup of coffee or a glass of milk as a special breakfast treat either!

celebrating children
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Celebrating children on a “HOORAY” kind of day (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

Hello friends! I hope everyone had a happy Valentine’s Day! In my home, when Valentine’s Day hits, I know that chaos is about to follow. Four out of eleven of our birthdays are in March, so it’s time to get ready. Celebrating children includes one of my favorite birthday traditions, which is linked to one of my favorite items. My sister Mallorie instructed me that I was to hang my banner, and pull out my plate for all those “HOORAY” moments that take place in our lives. Given the number of kids in our home, we have those moments all the time. Birthdays are my favorite. It always goes up and most of the time it stays up for the next day or so, just because I love the reminder of what the word “HOORAY” stands for.

What is Love? ~ An Inspirational Series on Love, Part 3
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What is Love? ~ An Inspirational Series on Love, Part 3

ByMariel

For the month of February, every Sunday, I wanted to do a little ‘What is Love’ series; a collection of random stories and videos that exhibit love and inspire us to bring more love into our lives. Yes, we can BRING more love into our lives. We don’t need anyone else to do it for us. Love is there, waiting to be had.

I hope these favorite stories and videos that I found, will help convey the beauty of love, inspire you, and bring a little more light into your life. Enjoy!

strawberry colada cupcakes
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Strawberry Colada Cupcakes (she: Jana)

ByJana

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY everyone! It’s Jana from Double the Deliciousness and I’m so excited to be joining you again this month and that I get to post here on Valentine’s Day! It’s one of my favorite holidays. I love LOVE! It’s such a perfect time to show that someone special in your life how much you love them. And it’s a great holiday to show love to your children, Grandparents, teachers, classmates, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, strangers on the street, the crazy lady that sings on the corner….and it goes on and on!

The world could use a little more LOVE, and a good cupcake! And I’ve found a great cupcake that everyone will love and is perfect for Valentine’s Day (or any other day matter of fact!). Check out my easy recipe for Strawberry Colada Cupcakes!

valentine in a jar
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DIY Valentine in a jar with printable (she: Carmella)

ByCarmella

Hello there! It’s Creative Carmella again, and it’s good to be back here at Or So She Says!

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow! Time to start thinking sweet thoughts and giving not-so-subtle hints to the hubby about what kind of chocolates you like best 😉

Today I am sharing a simple last-minute craft that your kids will love helping you with too… It’s a Valentine in a jar!

All you need is a mason jar, a sharpie, some cardstock, paint and treats (cute kid optional). There’s also a free printable included in this post to help you out.